Hogwarts Confessions
by Phoenix1001
Summary: Three years after the war, two former Gryffindors return to Hogwarts for different reasons. Neither of them knew the other would be there, yet upon discovering this, they find love when they least expected it. Written for Alex for the Kamerreon fic swap.


**Disclaimer**: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned the Harry Potter universe. I am just borrowing some of the characters to play with, and will return them when I am done. Title: Hogwarts Confessions  
**Author**: Kyle C./Phoenix1001  
**Gift For**: Alex  
**Beta**: Dawn D./Pandora_Silk  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Pairings**: Harry/Neville, past- Harry/Cho, past- Harry/Ginny, past- Neville/Luna (last three just mentioned in passing)  
**Warnings**: Slash, fluff  
**Summary**: Three years after the war, two former Gryffindors return to Hogwarts for different reasons. Neither of them knew the other would be there, yet upon discovering this, they find love when they least expected it.

A/n: This story was written for **Alex**, as part of the Secret Santa fic exchange on Kamerreon's Yahoo group. She requested Harry/Neville. Thanks to my beta, Pandora_Silk. You were a huge help, dear! And thanks to Kamerreon, who has supported me and my writings even through the tough stuff going on in my RL right now. On to the story...

**Hogwarts Confessions**

The silence was golden - perhaps the last bit of peace and quiet Harry would have for a while. He stood in the middle of the History of Magic classroom and surveyed the room. According to _Hogwarts, a History_, he was one of the youngest people to ever be hired as a professor at Hogwarts, being only 20 years old. He still could not believe that in two days, the room would be filled up with the next generation of students, with him as their teacher.

Professor McGonagall, the headmistress of Hogwarts after the war ended, had Floo-called him and asked him to take the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, but he had refused, saying that he had had enough of that kind of thing from fighting Voldemort. She was not going to let her favourite former student get away though, and asked him if he would consider working at Hogwarts in any capacity at all. Perking up a bit, Harry had asked if he could become the new History professor, provided that someone could exorcise Binns. McGonagall agreed almost before he could finish asking. Now, a month later, Harry had moved into his quarters at Hogwarts, and had his classroom almost to his liking.

His stomach growling, Harry pulled himself out of his musings and decided that he would finish prepping his classroom after lunch. With that, he headed to the Great Hall.

Halfway through the meal, Harry heard the doors to the Great Hall open softly. Looking up from the chicken leg he was working on, he saw someone he had thought to be gone from the UK ages ago.

"Neville!" he exclaimed happily. "What brings you here?"

"Hi, Harry," Neville replied quietly. "Professor Sprout apprenticed me this summer, and when my apprenticeship is over, I will take over her post as Herbology professor here. Why are _you_ here?"

"I'm the new History professor," came the reply. "I thought you had moved to the continent with Luna to care for the herd of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks she found, though. I never thought I'd see you here at Hogwarts again, although I am glad to have someone my age on the staff now. How've things been going for you? And will Luna be moving into the castle with you, or are you staying off-campus with her?"

"Harry, I-" Neville said nervously, trailing off.

"You..."

"Can we talk later? Privately?" Neville finally asked, looking around and seeing the staff had been listening to their conversation. "I have some things I need to tell you that I don't want everyone to know. Yet, anyway."

"Sure, Neville. I'm staying near the Tower. Professor McGonagall made me the new head of Gryffindor. Come by around four and we'll have tea. My rooms are behind the portrait of the Fat Man."

"Okay, Harry," Neville said glumly, thinking, 'After you hear what I have to say, this will probably be the last time you ever want to be near me again.'

Following lunch, Harry returned to his classroom and finished hanging the maps he had bought on the walls. He had bought both Muggle maps that showed the location of major battles in British history, as well as maps that showed modern-day national boundaries in the Muggle world. There was a UK map showing the major motorways and cities on it, and several maps of major UK cities such as London, Edinburgh, and Manchester, and a subway system map for London. He had arranged with the Muggle Studies professor to have a project combining both of their classes, and thought the Muggle maps would prove to be extremely useful. He had also purchased several Magical maps which were hung around the room, interspersed with the Muggle ones.

When he finished hanging everything, he looked around and nodded, satisfied with how everything looked now. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it had rolled around to half past three already, so he made haste to get back to his quarters to shower and change for his meeting with his friend.

Neville arrived outside Harry's quarters about ten minutes early and started nervously pacing in front of them. He had thought about Harry for the last three years since finishing Hogwarts, nearly non-stop. Merlin, he had Harry on the brain since he had first met him on the train at the beginning of their first year, when he had stopped to ask if they had seen Trevor. You see, Neville had the hots for Harry for as long as he could remember, though he didn't consider himself gay. He never thought about being with any other male; just Harry.

He had tried to get over it, telling himself that Harry would never like him _that_ way at all. After all, Harry had been crushing on Cho Chang back in their fifth year, and had gone out with Ginny for a while during their sixth year, until he had to go off and find the Horcruxes so he could finish off Voldemort. So why would Harry want to be with an overweight dummy like Neville?

With those thoughts running through his mind, Neville tried to find someone else to love, and thought he had found someone in Luna Lovegood, a female Ravenclaw, a year below him in school. She was an outcast in her House, just like he was. For almost four and a half years, he managed to keep up the charade and had a mostly happy relationship with Luna. A relationship that had went to hell-in-a-hand- basket six months ago, when he had called out Harry's name as he climaxed into Luna. She had dumped him quicker than you could say Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and now he was alone again and back in Britain.

The portrait of the Fat Man, whose name was Cecil and who turned out to be the Gryffindor Fat Lady, Evangeline's husband, swung open, breaking Neville out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Harry leaning against the frame of the portrait hole.

"Been here long?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Just a couple of seconds," Neville lied, flushing.

"Yeah, right," Cecil the Portrait snorted. "He's been pacing out here almost ten minutes, Harry, muttering to himself the whole while. I won't betray what he said, but I will say this: Don't worry about Harry's reaction, my lad, and don't be surprised to find you're not alone in your thoughts."

"Thanks, uh..." Neville murmured.

"Cecil, my lad. My name is Cecil," the portrait replied, "and no thanks are necessary. If ever you need someone to talk to, just find me. I will lend a listening ear and give impartial advice."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," Neville said noncommittally. He then followed Harry into his quarters and took a seat in the leather chair opposite Harry by the fire.

Accepting the cup of tea offered him by Harry, Neville took a sip of it and immediately felt calmed down a bit. "You put a Calming Draught in the tea, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "After earlier, I figured you would probably need it, and if what Cecil said is true, then I'm right. What's on your mind, Nev? Anything I can help you with?"

Sighing and taking a deep swig of tea, Neville swallowed and said, "Harry, what I'm about to tell you will probably come as a shock, and you'll most likely hate me for it. Please, just let me say what I need to and then I'll leave you alone forever."

Bewildered, Harry said, "I doubt anything you say would make me hate you, Neville. Even if you were to tell me you were the next Dark Lord, I wouldn't hate you. I wouldn't respect your decision if that were the case, but I wouldn't hate you."

"Harry, you asked earlier if Luna was moving in with me or if I was going to stay with her off-campus, remember?"

At Harry's nod, Neville continued, "Well, neither is the case. She broke up with me six months ago. We were... were... well, we were having sex for the first time, and I…," he finished in a rush, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

Harry sat back against his chair for a few minutes, the clock in the corner ticking loudly, before asking, "Could you repeat that and say it a bit slower? I couldn't understand a word you said."

"Luna and I were doing the deed, and I called out your name when I came, and now she hates my guts and never wants to see me again. For Merlin's sake, Harry, I'm in love with you and have been since I first met you on the Express in first year," Neville repeated, blushing Gryffindor red. "You have always been there for me, even before we were friends, and I can't hide my feelings any longer. If you don't want me, just say the word, and I'll leave."

"Oh," Harry said, setting his tea down and standing up. Neville recoiled quickly, thinking Harry was going to hit him, but he had something else in mind. He walked over and held his hand out to Neville, silently requesting him to stand up. When Neville did, Harry pulled him into an embrace and whispered into his ear, "I'm so glad you told me this, Neville. I love you, too." Then Harry placed a warm kiss on his new boyfriend's lips.

Neville's heart soared as he heard Harry's words and felt his lips upon his own. He felt as if he would burst from an overload of love, as the kiss continued for what felt like hours but in reality was only a scant few minutes.

When the two of them broke apart, Neville gasped in a deep breath before blushing and saying, "Oh, Merlin, that was hot!"

"Way better than any kiss I have ever received, by far. Would you do me the favour, nay... the honour of accompanying me to Hogsmeade this evening for supper?" Harry asked. "Although we've been friends for several years, I would still like to get to know my boyfriend better, and I am sure you would like to do the same."

"I would be stupid to turn down an offer like that," came the reply.

The two Gryffindors-turned-lovers went that evening to a small diner off the beaten path, and from that point on, their relationship grew greater and greater until finally, one year to the day after their first date, Harry finally proposed to his lover and the two became a bonded couple. They adopted several children who had been orphaned and who had no magical relatives, in hopes of preventing any of them from going through the hell that Harry had with the Dursleys. Neville finished his apprenticeship with Mme Sprout and took over the Herbology post, while Harry continued on as the History of Magic professor. The two stayed in their posts for many years, until, with each being at the age of 155, they retired to be able to spend time with their many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Fifteen years later, Harry passed away in the year 2150 at the ripe old age of 170, with his bonded passing away the next year.

(Fin)


End file.
